Midnight Mate: A Paranormal Romance Standalone

by Heather Hildenbrand

  I looked into her eyes, now free from pain and with just a hint of the beast she now had inside her. A wolf. My wolf. My mate.

  “How do you feel?” I asked.

  “A little weird,” she admitted. “Healed, obviously, but . . .” Her stomach growled. “Hungry as hell.”

  I laughed.

  She smiled. “And happy to be here with you.”

  “You are the most important person in my life, Cat.” I leaned in, pressing my forehead against hers. “I can’t live in a world without you in it.”

  “Then it’s a good thing you don’t have to.”

  “A mate for a mate,” I repeated Delphine’s words, finally beginning to understand. “You had to choose me too.”

  She nodded. “I think we needed the bond on both ends in order to heal each other.”

  I blew out a breath. “I’m glad it worked.”

  “Me too. That was actually easier than I ever expected.”

  “You did complete the transition faster than I’ve ever seen,” I admitted.

  She smirked. “So what you’re saying is I’m a badass.”

  I shook my head. “Maybe. Speaking of, I can’t believe you jumped off that table and stabbed that asshole in the neck.”

  Her smirk became a smile that lit up her whole face. “It was kind of awesome, wasn’t it?”

  “It was reckless and stupid,” I said, and she scowled. “He could have killed you.”

  “But he didn’t. I killed him.”

  “Actually, I killed him.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Are we really going to fight about that? Now?”

  I grinned. “I would fight about anything with you. Especially if it means making up after.”

  “You’re crazy.”

  I kissed her. “I’m crazy about you.”

  “The feeling’s mutual.”

  “Easton.”

  The male voice was unexpected and, although definitely not Travis’s, still made me want to stab something right now. Huh. Maybe that was a mate thing.

  I twisted to look at the newcomer, shielding Cat’s body with my own.

  “Tobias,” I said warily. He was shirtless and winded, and I was sure he’d only just now shifted back to two legs after running here.

  “Angus tracked me down. Explained there was trouble.” He nodded at Cat. “Evening.”

  Cat eased out of my hold, but I stayed within reach.

  “Tobias, this is Cat. Cat, Tobias.”

  “Hello,” she said, and I could hear the wary note in her tone. Her wolf wasn’t ready for an outsider yet.

  Tobias glanced between us and then past us to where I knew he had smelled the blood. “Everything okay out here? You two need some help?”

  I jerked my chin toward the cabin. “One of yours in there. Travis Burns.”

  “You said you’d bring him to me if there was trouble,” Tobias said.

  “Yeah, well, Travis had other plans.”

  Tobias looked at the angry red marks on my chest and hip left over from Travis’s claws. “He do that?”

  I nodded. “Dragged Cat out here while I was with you earlier. Attacked her.”

  Tobias looked at Cat. “I apologize. Travis had some trouble in his last town, but we’d hoped he’d rehabilitated. I can see we were wrong to give him so much freedom. I’m glad you’re all right.”

  Anger surged within me. He couldn’t have told me all that before?

  “Better than all right. She put a chair leg in Travis’s throat.”

  “I’m impressed,” Tobias said. “A woman who can hold her own. A human at that.”

  I cleared my throat. “Not human,” I said quietly. “Not anymore.”

  And despite the fact that we weren’t on pack land, this was the tricky part. I’d just helped create a brand new wolf and killed one of his pack—as a resident of his town. We might be out of his reach now, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t come looking for us the moment we got back to the Falls.

  Tobias’ brow shot up. “Yes, I thought I smelled another wolf. Interesting.” He eyed us both, and I could see he wanted to ask more. “Well, why don’t I clean up here and give you some time to help her adjust. We can talk later.”

  “Thanks.” I started to move then stopped. Better to get this out between us now. “Look, I know the consequences for killing a pack member. I’ll turn myself over as soon as Cat’s patched up. But I want her left out of this. None of this was her fault, it’s all on me.”

  “What?” Cat demanded, stepping forward. “No way. I killed that asshole, and it was self-defense.”

  I shot her a look which she promptly ignored.

  Tobias held up a hand. “Hold on a moment.” He looked out at the woods washed in darkness. “This land is outside our boundary which means outside my jurisdiction.” He cocked his head at me. “My laws don’t apply here.”

  I held out my hand. “Thank you.”

  “Let’s talk tomorrow,” Tobias said. “Make some decisions. Put everything behind us.”

  I glanced at Cat. “Sounds like a plan. I’ve got some decisions to make myself.”

  21

  Cat

  I woke, groggy from the antibiotics Easton had insisted I take, “just in case,” and stiff, thanks to what I could only assume was the new DNA and bone structure my body was still adjusting to. But the moment my hand found the sculpted chest lying beside me in bed, I smiled, completely happy.

  “Mmm,” I mumbled, scooting closer and resting my head against East’s shoulder.

  His arm curled around me, and he rolled toward me, planting a kiss along my temple. “Good morning, gorgeous.”

  “Don’t talk yet,” I mumbled. “I was having an amazingly hot dream.”

  He laughed, his chest shaking. “I see. Hotter than your reality?”

  I cracked an eye and found him attempting to glare at me.

  My gaze drifted down to his bare chest and abs that looked carved from stone. “It’s hard to say,” I said and shrieked as his fingers dug into my sides, tickling.

  I wriggled until my core began to pulse with need then stopped, struggling to catch my breath. Everything felt heightened today. My emotions, my physical sensations—my desire.

  Perks of being a wolf, apparently.

  A fact that still felt weird to say even in my own head. Weird but good. Like I’d finally discovered a missing part of myself. And not just because the change came complete with a soul mate.

  “God, you’re heavy,” I joked, but East just grinned down at me from where he’d pinned me to the mattress. Another wolf perk: super strength. Easton’s weight felt like nothing at all.

  “That’s because I’m huge.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Everywhere.”

  I rolled my eyes, hiding the fact that my insides had just done a somersault at the words.

  It didn’t matter how many times we’d made love over the past three days, I couldn’t seem to get enough. Neither could Easton, it seemed, and we’d spent the better part of seventy-two hours naked and in bed.

  Today, though, we had to get up.

  Easton’s mom was due home from the hospital—and Tobias had asked to meet with me. East assured me there was no pressure about joining the pack. According to him, wolves opted to remain packless all the time, but as a new wolf in Tobias’s territory, I needed to go and give him an answer.

  “Keep that in mind when you’re standing in front of the entire wolf pack later,” East added with a devilish grin.

  “You’re evil, you know that?”

  “Just making sure you remember which animal you’re going home with.”

  Dropping a quick kiss on the tip of my nose, East rolled away and helped me sit up. I looked around, surveying the damage. Clothes and dishes were strewn everywhere, thanks to us both spending so much time here the past few days, but I didn’t mind it. I had the hottest nurse on the planet.

  “Hungry?” East asked.

  “I could definitely eat.”

  He lean
ed in, pressing kisses to my throat. “So could I,” he whispered, sending a shiver of pleasure through me.

  “East.” I shoved him away, laughing. “We’ll be late.”

  “Fine. But tonight, you’re the dessert.”

  “I didn’t choose to become a wolf just so we could spend the rest of our lives in bed together, you know.”

  “Of course not.” He held out a hand to help me up. “We should change it up once in a while, just to keep it interesting. Maybe have a quickie in the woods later.”

  “You’re terrible. Besides, you’re the one who busted your leg up just so you could come back to town and see me.”

  He grinned. “Best idea I ever had.”

  I shook my head but didn’t answer.

  We hadn’t directly addressed it yet, but the truth was his leg had healed itself the night I’d changed. I was too afraid of what that meant to ask much about the details. And East had been weirdly quiet about the whole thing, including how much longer he planned to stick around.

  Something told me today would be different. Especially since Tobias wanted to talk to us both.

  After breakfast with Rudy, who seemed to have put most of the pieces together despite the fact that neither of us had told him about my change yet, we drove out to the meeting site.

  Tobias had chosen neutral ground; state park land that butted up against the witch’s property. Easton had already warned me to keep an eye out for glamours or anything off, but the day was perfect.

  Sunny, warm, and full of promise.

  My wolf wished we’d run instead of driven, but I kept that to myself. Instead, I twisted my hands together as my nerves grew. East reached over and threaded his fingers through mine knowingly.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he assured me, smiling as he glanced over.

  “Yeah, I’m sure it is.” I smiled too, but it felt forced.

  Nothing would be okay until I knew when East was leaving town. It was like waiting for the rug to be ripped out from underneath my feet. Packless was one thing, but I had no desire to do the lone wolf thing. And even though I knew jack shit about how it all worked, I had a feeling my beast had picked East as her mate—which meant I wasn’t going to get over him leaving a second time.

  “Hey, how’s your mom?” I asked while we drove, mostly to change the subject.

  We’d been to see her every day since I went through the change. One of the only things we’d left the house—and bed—to do. In the moments when East had left us alone, I’d found myself bonding with her. We’d both been hurt by men who thought it was okay to treat women like trash. And we were both healing in ways that went beyond the physical.

  I liked her a lot. Spending time with her made the ache left by my parents’ death hurt a little less.

  “Good. I told her we’d skip today’s visit.” He shot me a look. “We’ll do lunch tomorrow.”

  Lunch. Not dinner. Was it a last stop on his way out of town then? Was spending today with me his way of saying goodbye?

  “I have to go back to work tomorrow,” I reminded him.

  “No way. You’re still adjusting to the change,” he said.

  “I’m not going to see patients yet,” I assured him. “Besides, the amount of paperwork waiting for me there is probably enough to keep me chained to my desk for a year anyway.”

  He flashed me a wicked smile. “Good to know you like chains. I’ll be sure to tie you up one of these days.”

  “That’s not . . .” My cheeks heated.

  He laughed as the truck slowed, but my amusement died the minute I caught sight of the small crowd already assembled and waiting. This was it. Time to choose: the pack or the man who was inevitably going to leave me behind again.

  22

  Easton

  I took one look at the clearing filled with bodies and nearly drove right on by without stopping. But Tobias angry at me was one thing. I couldn’t let that anger include Cat.

  “I didn’t expect quite so many people,” Cat said. The strain in her voice from nerves was obvious, and my wolf snarled at her anxiety.

  “Me neither,” I muttered as I parked the truck.

  We got out, and I took Cat’s hand firmly in mine, marching past the guys, several of which I recognized from high school. Eyes narrowed, I ignored their friendly greetings and strode straight up to Tobias.

  “You said this would be a closed meeting,” I said, not bothering to hide my displeasure. Nothing personal against old friends, but protecting Cat came first.

  “I apologize for not sending word,” Tobias said, surprising me with his easy acceptance of responsibility. “There’s been a new development, and I thought it best if the rest of the pack were here just in case.”

  “In case what?” I demanded.

  His eyes flicked to Cat.

  “In case your wolf can’t be contained.”

  I had no idea what he was talking about, but something in his expression, like he was the one wary of me now, had me bracing myself. What could have happened that would make him gather this many men to subdue me?

  “You said we were coming here to talk about Cat.”

  “And we will. But there’s something you need to know.” His voice was even. Like he was trying to calm me.

  “What?” I demanded.

  Tobias’s gaze flicked to something over my shoulder. I turned in time to see the crowd parting as Angus came forward.

  “Hey, brother,” he said solemnly.

  A prickle of unease shot down my spine. I clutched Cat’s hand tighter in my own. “What’s going on?” I asked him.

  He looked past me to Tobias, who nodded.

  Angus sighed. “It’s about your old man.”

  “What the hell’s he done now?”

  Angus hesitated. “He violated the banishment order.”

  My temper flared, and I pinned Tobias with a glare. “Well, what the hell are you doing about it?”

  “Nothing,” Tobias said, and rage rose within me. Some of the pack edged toward me, and I realized this is why they’d been summoned. To keep me from attacking their alpha. But if he was going to ignore the problem, just like the cops had always done, the bastard deserved my wrath.

  “Why the hell not?” I growled, my bones trembling with the urge to shift. To attack.

  “He’s gone, East.”

  Tobias’s voice was gentle. Too damn gentle for my father to have just run off. This didn’t make sense.

  “What the hell do you mean ‘gone’? Of course he’s gone. You banished him for two weeks, and he couldn’t even obey that order.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” Tobias motioned to a large tree stump. “Would you like to sit?”

  “I’m good.”

  “Your injury?” He studied my leg then looked back at me again questioningly.

  “Healed,” I said flatly, stomach churning. “Where’s my father, Tobias?”

  “Your mother was released from the hospital yesterday evening,” he began.

  What the hell? I’d just spoken to her around dinnertime.

  “She isn’t supposed to go home until tomorrow.”

  “She was sent home early under the care of a neighbor who apparently left to get some clothes and personal items. During that time, your father came home.”

  My body went numb.

  I’d been so wrapped up in helping Cat with her transition I’d left my mother alone. Exposed.

  Beside me, Cat tensed, and I knew she was just as on edge as I was.

  “They argued,” Tobias went on. “Your father attacked her, and she stabbed him in the heart with a fire poker.”

  I stared at Tobias, too shocked to speak.

  “He’s dead, Easton. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Cat’s free hand came up to squeeze my arm in comfort. Angus moved in closer, eyeing where she touched me.

  I blinked. “She stabbed him?” I repeated.

  “In the heart,” Tobias added.

  Holy shit. “He’s gon
e.”

  Tobias nodded, waiting for me to absorb it.

  I looked at Cat whose expression was full of sorrow.

  “Mom killed him.” I couldn’t believe it. After years of refusing to fight back or hold him responsible—

  “She won’t be charged for this, will she?” I asked, turning to Tobias then Angus for answers.

  Tobias shook his head. “I’ve spoken to Barnett already. It was clearly self-defense, and after all the previous reports that have been filed against him, she’s the victim in all this.”

  My throat closed, and I had to fight for words to come. “Thank you.”

  “I meant what I said about protecting her,” he said.

  “I better get over there.” I turned to leave, dazed by everything he’d just told me, but Tobias called me back.

  “There’s still the matter of your friend.”

  I stilled.

  Beside me, Cat straightened.

  Tobias cleared his throat, and I noted Angus hadn’t backed off yet. They still expected me to lose it.

  Not happening. Not for that asshole. It was a shock, sure, but I wasn’t going to put Cat in danger over whatever fucked up feelings my old man’s death gave me.

  “Cat, you’ve been through a lot recently, and out of respect, we’ve kept our distance while you adjusted to your new reality. How are you doing with the change?”

  “I’m good,” she said, hesitant but open. “East’s a great teacher.”

  “Yes, he is.” Tobias hesitated then added. “I’m sure he’s told you by now about some of the inner workings of the pack. What it means to join one. To choose an alpha.”

  “Or to choose yourself,” I put in.

  Tobias only nodded, never taking his eyes off Cat. “It is up to you, but there’s more protection in a pack.”

  “Sounds like a threat,” I said, eyes narrowed.

  But Tobias shook his head. “It’s not meant to. Look, I’ve made mistakes. Tied my own hands when it comes to pack law. My ego isn’t so big I can’t admit that. But if our laws are going to change, it’s going to take fresh voices.” He looked at Cat pointedly. “More female voices would be a nice addition, too.”

  Damn.